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SoftBank Group

SFTBY
40
Telecommunications Services · Communication Services
Price
$14.80
-1.53 (-9.37%)
Market Cap
$168.66B
Exchange
Other OTC
Winston Score
40
Winston is serious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.
Data as of Oct 18, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026

§How the score breaks down

Quality
Weak
6/30
Growth
Strong
15/20
Cash Flow
Weak
0/10
Stability
Weak
2/10
Valuation
Good
6/10
Ownership
Good
10/15
Dividends
Weak
1/5

40 of 100 counted points = Winston Score 40.

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Share count falling — buybacks

−16.5% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 13.67B (2022) → 11.42B (2026)

§Winston Score History

The full picture

SoftBank Group is a Japanese holding company that owns stakes in hundreds of technology and telecommunications businesses around the world. Its most well-known asset is its Vision Fund, one of the largest technology investment funds ever created, which has backed companies like Uber, ByteDance, and Arm Holdings. SoftBank also owns a major Japanese mobile carrier under the SoftBank brand, serving millions of consumers and businesses in Japan.

The company makes money in two main ways: steady fees and profits from its Japanese telecom operations, and gains from selling or holding stakes in tech companies through its Vision Funds. SoftBank operates globally but is headquartered in Tokyo, and its portfolio spans the U.S., Asia, Latin America, and beyond. Its biggest risk is that its value rises and falls heavily with the performance of its tech investments — when startup valuations drop, SoftBank's balance sheet can take serious losses, as it did during the 2022 tech downturn.

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+12.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

-15.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

¥0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (12%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

67.9%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Runway

~6 years

¥42.2T cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

¥42.2T cash & investments at current burn rate

Growth context

SoftBank Group is growing revenue at 12% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
52.2%
Healthy — 52.2% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
-11.6%
Losing money on operations — -11.6%
Return on the money invested
ROCE
-1.0%
Weak — -1.0% return on capital

Negative ROIC means the business is losing money on every dollar invested in it.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+10.5%
Steady sales growth (+10.5% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
+194.1%
Earnings growing fast (+194.1% YoY)

Earnings growing 25%+ a year. The compounder zone.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
6/8 quarters
Earnings grew in most of the last 8 quarters

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
-17%
Weak — only -17% of profit becomes cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
-44.8%
Burning cash (-44.8%)

Free cash flow is negative. They are burning cash, not generating it.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
1.48
Elevated debt (1.48)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
N/A
Data not available

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
5.7x
Attractive valuation — P/E 5.7

P/E under 10. The price tag is small relative to last year's profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
-61.0
SLOWING
Earnings expected to fall — forward P/E higher than today

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Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
0.00%
Small dividend — 0.00% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
-44.7%
Dividend cut (-44.7% YoY) — warning sign
Payout Ratio
1%
no trend
Pays out a modest share of profit and keeps the rest to reinvest. Room to keep paying through a weak year.

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